Journey Man is a video and teachers guide for Key Stage 5. It is a unique resource giving the teacher the opportunity to raise the issue of asylum seekers and refugees in a variety of contexts. Journey Man features a 20 minute fictional film about an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone who arrives as a stowaway in a rundown Welsh town at Christmas time. He is starving and lost. Finally he seeks shelter in a pub and despite being thrown out by the landlord Griff (Ifan Huw Dafydd), he unexpectedly touches the heart of Griff’s wife Connie (Ruth Madoc).
The film, in a fairy-tale genre, makes use of flashbacks and dream-scenes to provide a full view of the experience of flight, and arrival, for asylum seekers and refugees. It is touching and poignant but based on real experiences. The teachers guide is packed with information including activities, quizzes and topics for debate for use in:
- English Language and Literature
- Media Studies
- Sociology
- Drama and Theatre Studies
- General Studies
- Geography
- Economics
Themes covered include refugees, communication, loss, reality and Illusion, representation and hostility and acceptance.
